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Budget airline easyJet said it expected to deliver pre-tax profit in line with market expectations following a 'robust' third quarter despite rising competition and tougher macroeconomic conditions weighing on revenues.
The company also announced that Peter Bellew would be joining easyJet as Chief Operating Officer.
'With 78% of second half seats sold we have better full year visibility and headline profit before tax for the 12 months to 30 September 2019 is expected to be between £400 million and £440 million, in line with market expectations,' the company said.
The outlook to deliver profits in line with market expectations comes despite a modest rise in total revenue per seat.
Total revenue per seat, a key measure of performance for airlines, increased by 0.7% at constant currency, in line with expectations, driven by a solid Easter and operational improvements, though this was partially offset by softening demand amid Brexit uncertainty and rising competition.
Total revenue for the quarter ending 30 June 2019 increased by 11.4% to £1,761m, with passenger revenue increased by 10.7% to £1,387m and ancillary revenue increased by 14.3% to £374m.
Passenger numbers in the quarter increased by 8% to 26.4m, driven by an increase in capacity of 10% to 28.8m seats. The load factor decreased, as anticipated, by 1.7% to 91.7%, due to late yield initiatives as well as a high prior year.
Headline cost per seat excluding fuel at constant currency decreased by 4.0% in the quarter amid lower levels of disruption thanks to operational improvements.
Looking ahead to the full year, the airline said it expected full-year capacity to grow by about 10%, H2 capacity to grow by about 7%, with H2 revenue per seat at constant currency to be slightly down, unchanged from previous guidance. Full Year unit fuel bill was likely to be £30m to £50m adverse. The total fuel bill is expected to be c.£1.4 billion
'easyJet's third quarter performance was robust and despite the tougher macroeconomic conditions was in line with expectations. Revenue increased by over 11% with RPS increasing through a combination of successful revenue initiatives, a solid Easter performance and a focus on late yield initiatives, with passenger numbers climbing by two million to over 26 million,' said Johan Lundgren, easyJet Chief Executive.